(Radio Iowa) – Another person has come forward with sex abuse allegations against a Catholic priest who served more than a dozen eastern Iowa parishes in the 1980s and ’90s. Father Leo Riley, in Florida since 2002, was placed on administrative leave last month, after a different adult accused Riley of abuse in the mid-1980s. Riley was assigned to a church in Dubuque at the time.

About a decade ago, Riley was accused of abusing a minor at the Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque in 1985. The Archbishop of Dubuque — back in 2015 — said that previous investigation was dropped because the information available didn’t support a reasonable belief that the allegation was true.

Bishop Richard Pates has sent a letter to all Iowa parishes where Riley served, asking people with any information about alleged abuse to contact the archdiocese in Dubuque. Bishop Pates has released a written statement, too, saying the church will do what it can to bring healing in the midst of outrage and hurt — and he said the archdiocese is committed to working diligent sly to ensure a safe environment for children and all vulnerable individuals in its churches and schools.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – [**update to Monday’s report] The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has sent Atlantic’s school board a letter, saying it would be unconstitutional to prohibit student protests at school. During the school board’s meeting in May, LeAnne Pellett of Atlantic said she represented 30 residents who were upset by a March protest at the school over L-G-B-T-Q related bills in the legislature.

“This protest, promoted by a small group of students, and encouraged and promoted for sure by one and maybe more by our taxpayer funded educators is of great concern to us. Please understand, we do not object to anyone’s right to protest,” Pellett said. “…We do, however, object to these events taking place during educational instruction time, approved by school administration and promoted by educators.” Pellet called on the school board to adopt a new policy.  “We would like to see a policy established by this board to allow events such as this protect to be held only before or after regular school instructional hours,” Pellett said, “and preferably not on school property.”

[**] Thomas Story, a staff attorney with the A-C-L-Uof Iowa, says that suggested policy would clearly violate students’ constitutional rights.  “As of right now, we aren’t aware of any further action by the board on this policy,” he says, “but it’s important for us to use this as an opportunity to ensure all school districts in Iowa are aware of the constitutional problems with such a policy and their obligations to their students.”

Story cites a 1969 U-S Supreme Court ruling that says students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. The case involved a group Des Moines students who were suspended from school for protesting the Vietnam War. There were student walk-outs in several Iowa school district earlier this year, led by students protesting bills in the legislature. Story says it’s likely other school boards are hearing similar proposals to Pellett’s.

“It’s clear from the letter that we’re watching Atlantic,” Story says, “and if any schools do take the next step, we’d be willing to take a look at all of our options.” According to the A-C-L-U, Iowa law only lets schools limit or punish students for their speech or expression at school if it encourages illegal activities, interferes with other students’ rights, or substantially disrupts school activities.

(Radio Iowa) – This week’s Iowa Crop and Weather report from the U-S-D-A rates 60 percent of Iowa topsoil either short or very short of moisture. State Climatologist Justin Glisan says abnormally dry conditions have expanded in the past two weeks. “In those more pervasive and dry areas, we’ve seen precipitation deficits really stack up,” Glisan says. “This is reflected in lower stream flows, but also diminishment in soil moisture.”

By last Thursday, 99 percent of the state reached some stage of drought or has been abnormally dry for 30 to 60 days according to the U-S-D-A’s Iowa Drought Monitor. Glisan says it appears surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean are rising — and that means a change in the weather pattern for thunderstorms that form over the ocean and later sweep into Iowa.

“I think there is good news on the horizon,” Glisan says. Weather models indicate the swing into the wetter pattern could arrive in Iowa by July, according to Glisan, just when corn and soybeans hit a major stage in development.  “We need timely rainfalls throughout the teeth of the growing season,” Glisan says, “so seeing this potential shift into El Nino, which we are in now, and the potential for the weather patterns that set up, I am pretty confident that we are not going to see any yield loss because of early planting.”

Glisan made his comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. According to the U-S-D-A, the development of Iowa’s soybean crop is nine days ahead of normal and the corn crop is a week ahead of last year.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Officers with the Red Oak Police Department report the arrest Monday afternoon, of 61-year-old Daniel Mark Kinnersley. The Red Oak man was arrested at around 4:05-p.m. for disorderly conduct after he allegedly ran in front of vehicles and made threatening remarks. Kinnersley was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

At around 7:50-p.m. Monday, Red Oak Police arrested 65-year-old James Grover Lunsford, of Red Oak, for Driving While License is suspended in Iowa. His bond was set at $491.25

And, Red Oak Police arrested 21-year-old Savannah Victoria Jones, of Murray, early this (Tuesday) morning. She was taken into custody at around 12:17-a.m. following a traffic stop, and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. Jones was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Nishna Valley Trails and Cass County Conservation hosted “Truckin’ on the Trails” at Schildberg Recreation Area on June 3rd, in honor of National Trails Day. The event showcased various cycling opportunities and trails in Cass County.

Event organizers say Jon Jordan gave an introduction to gravel riding and led a 10-mile ride called the “Nishna Valley
Gravel Sampler” from Schildberg to the south T-Bone Trailhead and back. Throughout the event, Sarah Selders provided live music, and the Atlantic Kiwanis, Master Grillers, and Louie’s Shaved Ice sold food.

Steve Green of the Atlantic Kiwanis gave a presentation on the kids’ bike helmet giveaway the club has been organizing for 27 years, and shared that the Atlantic Kiwanis have given away over 5,000 helmets to third-grade students. Steve Anderson, owner of Bike Farm in Atlantic, talked about his bike business and gave out door prizes.

Jon Jordan led an enthusiastic group of 12 cyclists on the T-Bone Gravel Sampler Ride. (Photo submitted)

Dave and Barb Chase led a group of riders on a 1.5-mile ride around the Schildberg trails on their tandem bike. Over 70 people attended the trails day event.

Cass County Conservation and Nishna Valley Trails remind area residents and visitors that trails in Cass County can be used year-round. A Cass County trails map can be found online at: https://www.atlanticiowa.com/experience/cass-county-trails-map-2/. Hard copies of the map can be found at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.

(Rural Anita, Iowa) – Anita Rescue was dispatched to the scene of a dump truck rollover accident this (Monday) afternoon, at around 4:43-p.m.  The incident happened near 76748 Fairview Road. The driver was conscious and awake. He was eventually able to walk to the ambulance to be checked-out.

Additional details are currently not available.

Des Moines – The Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau reports a Spirit Lake woman, 51-year-old Tammy Jo Zemler,  was charged with three counts of Fraudulent Submissions (Class D Felony), three counts of Forgery (Class D Felony), and three counts of Identity Theft (Aggravated Misdemeanor) following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Divisions Fraud Bureau.

The charges against Zemler stem from an investigation which began in April of 2022.  According to a criminal complaint filed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, while Zemler was working as an insurance producer, she altered documents and submitted them in support of insurance policies knowing that they misrepresented material facts.

Zemler was arrested on June 1, 2023 and booked into the Dickinson County Jail.  Zemler posted a $36,000 bond and was released. No additional information will be provided at this time.

Tammy Jo Zemler (Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office photo)

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

(Radio Iowa) – A former church missionary from Fort Dodge has been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of several sex crimes involving a child.

Thirty-year-old Jordan Webb was living in Webster County at the time of his arrest. He was found guilty of one count of sex abuse in the second degree, one count of child endangerment and another sex related charge back in April.

Webb’s attorney filed a motion for a new trial which was turned down Friday afternoon prior to Webb’s sentencing in Webster County District Court.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office recently recognized tenured employees of the Sheriff’s Office, the Cass County Jail and the Cass County Communication’s Center. The Sheriff’s Office recognized employees from these departments that hold 10 or more years of continued service.

Sheriff Darby McLaren says these employees have been and continue to be vital assets for our County. The dedication and true value of these employees was exemplified during recent difficult times of Covid-19 and widespread employee shortages.

All agencies within the State are going through hardships in an attempt to recruit and retain employees to provide 24/7/365 coverage. Cass County, Sheriff McLaren says, is fortunate to have this number of quality employees who have given more than 10 years of service to our County.

Pictured (In no particular order), are: Steph Witzman (24 years), Joni Knudsen (22 years), John Westering (20 years), Kyle Quist (18 years), Stacey Misner (18 years), Ben Bartholomew (16 years), Bobbi Jo Steffensmeier (15 years), Sue Meier (15 years), Josh McLaren (14 years) and Dorothy Cable (10 years)

The Sheriff and Deputies extend their sincerest thanks to each and every one! (Click on the images to enlarge)

Not pictured are: Chris Droll (26 years), Jennifer Holaday (25 years)

Bobbi Jo Steffensmeier

Jailers

(Lewis, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Board (CCCB) held a youth fishing derby at Cold Springs Park on Saturday, June 10, 2023. Officials say prizes were awarded for the most overall weight:

• 1st place, Traven Thomas
• 2nd place, Dayton Thomas
• 3rd place, Brooklyn Thomas.
  

  (Left) Traven Thomas; (Middle) Dayton Thomas; Brooklyn Thomas (2nd from left); Gavin Dougherty (2nd from the right), & Chloe Pendergast (right). Photo submitted by the CCCB

Awards also given for heaviest single fish and longest single fish: Gavin Dougherty, and shortest single fish: Chloe Pendergast. The CCCB thanks all those that donated items for the event: Weirich Welding for the trophies, Cappel’s Ace Hardware, and Scheels for prizes.